NSA leaker reveals self, has no apologies

The former CIA employee who leaked details about classified secret surveillance programs to The Guardian and The Washington Post revealed himself in a story published Sunday, saying that he has no apologies for his actions.

Edward Snowden, 29, told The Guardian that he wanted his identity made public.

“I intend to ask for asylum from any countries that believe in free speech and oppose the victimization of global privacy,” Snowden told the Post.

Snowden is taking credit for leaking documents exposing both the National Security Agency’s PRISM program, which gathers electronic communications data from companies like Facebook and Google, and a government program designed to track every phone call made within or from the United States.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged the existence of PRISM in a statement Saturday. Clapper reiterated President Barack Obama’s stance that Congress has been regularly briefed about the programs and approved the laws that allowed their creation.

His office referred questions about Snowden to the Justice Department and said in a statement that “the Intelligence Community is currently reviewing the damage that has been done by these recent disclosures. Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by the law.”

Several hours later, Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said the department “is in the initial stages of an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified information by an individual with authorized access.” But, she said, “consistent with longstanding department policy and procedure and in order to protect the integrity of the investigation, we must decline further comment.”

A White House spokesman declined to comment Sunday on Snowden’s emergence.

Snowden, who is currently an employee of defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton attached to the National Security Agency, said he has been holed up in secret at a Hong Kong hotel since taking medical leave from his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii in late May.

Booz Allen said Sunday night that Snowden had been an employee for less than three months. “News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm,” the company said in a statement. “We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter.”